


Welcome to the Doghouse

by Ladyofwarandmercy



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-20
Updated: 2014-10-20
Packaged: 2018-02-21 23:22:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2485994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyofwarandmercy/pseuds/Ladyofwarandmercy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grant Ward and Jemma Simmons are back with the team, but find the only teammates who want to deal with them are one another. At least for now. When Movie Night comes, both find the fare too dark for their tastes, and make their own movie night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Welcome to the Doghouse

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Agents of SHIELD, any of its characters, and I don't own "Keeping Up Appearances." But it's a fun show to watch.

Lance Hunter stepped away from Movie Night on the big screen in the hangar to find an unoccupied loo. As he turned a corner towards the commons, he heard a feminine cackle and masculine chuckle. More curious than needy at the moment, Lance looked in the commons, to find Jemma and Grant sitting on the couch, tossing a pillow back and forth, as they watched what appeared to be…was it…Mum’s favorite comedy? “The BOUQUET Residence, the Lady of the House Speaking!” echoed from the smaller telly in the Commons. By Jove, it was Hyacinth! Lance quickly took care of business and ran to join the two newly-rejoined team members. “Oi, you guys are missing Batman!” Lance interrupted, as the next DVD was queuing up. “Not that Keeping Up Appearances isn’t fine quality viewing in and of itself, mind.” Both shook their heads dismissively. “Too dark. Jem and I have had too much dark in our lives recently to watch it on the screen,” Ward answered. “Besides, Leo and Skye aren’t talking to us,” Jemma finished. “Yeah, we’d just ruin the mood, so screw ‘em. We’ll have our own Movie Night, and both groups have much more fun that way,” Ward added. “You’re welcome to join us,” Jemma offered. 

Lance grabbed a package of the laver crisps Jemma and Grant had been eating, and sat between them on the couch. Lance was dubious on the things until he tasted a wasabi-flavoured crisp. And damned if it wasn’t like a sushi-flavoured crisp done right! As the episodes rolled by, eventually Melinda May poked her head around the corner, saw the three on the couch, rolled her eyes, and walked off. “Yes, same to you, Melinda,” Lance called after her. He turned to look at Grant, and saw his eyes were rolled as well. “Don’t tell me you have a past with her, too, mate?” Jemma piped up beside Lance, “They were Friends with Benefits before that HYDRA business.” Lance gave Grant an amused look. “I’m terribly sorry. But I would love to hear that tale.” Jemma paused the DVD. “Me too!” She held the remote out at a distance to emphasize she was holding further viewing hostage. Grant rubbed the bridge of his nose. He looked both ways, and listened carefully to the music coming from the film in the other room. It sounded like the film had reached a climax, and they were unlikely to be interrupted again, so Grant began, 

“I think I fell for Skye the first time I saw her. But at that point in my life, it had been six months since I had...gotten any. Stuff happens, you know? I couldn’t stop thinking about her and fantasizing about her. But at the time, I had convinced myself that it had everything to do with my involuntary celibacy at the time. I told May about this. You’re former SAS, not SHIELD Ops, so I don’t know if you get the espionage training we get. But if your ability to be professional with a member of the appropriate sex comes up on a mission, we’re trained to relieve the tension. I told May about my feelings for Skye, and she suggested a Friends With Benefits arrangement, as we both have been trained. I didn’t take her up on it at the time, and that’s odd for me. It was like I would have been cheating on Skye. That should have been my first sign something more than an itch was going on. Anyway, remember Dublin? After that Berserker Staff thing? Skye was inviting me up to her room. Yeah, when that happened, I knew I had to do something or just…lose myself in her. So I ran to May.”

Jemma piped in, “Maybe it would have been better for all of us if you had gone up to Skye’s room.” Grant shook his head and continued, 

“Jemma, if I had gotten with Skye at that point, I likely would have told Garrett where to step off at the wrong time. He would have just had me killed and taken Skye. As badly as things turned out, they actually could have been worse. John was suspicious enough about my loyalties. He didn’t really question them until after he took that stuff and started freaking out. If John knew how much I love Skye, he would have used her against me in the most awful ways, if he even let me live. Look, just coming to that conclusion came from a long, long time in a dark cell. I wish every day that there were a better way things could have turned out. I wish that damned box had floated. You guys were in the Caribbean between Cuba and Miami. The Coast Guard would have found you in minutes. But like every attempt I make to make things right, it just…fucks up.”

Jemma began, “Oooh Ward, and after that, I wanted your head on a platter, and I didn’t care if it was the big one or the little one. But then… A source of Coulson’s was talking about an opening in HYDRA’s Sci-Ops division. Mind you, HYDRA originally came on our radar as the Nazis’ own Sci-Ops. Plus from the data we got from Grant, we knew you had to know somebody to infiltrate HYDRA’s Operations division, and not even Trip would last long. It was a chance for some weakly-vetted person to obtain the best possible data on HYDRA and its current activities. Our choices were either to train Fitz or myself on the fine art of tradecraft, Fitz still being aphasic at that point, or to have me train Trip or May on PhD-level biochemistry. Needless to say, though, it scared the Hell out of me, I took the job. As much as I hated you at that point, and didn’t want to become you, the only thing keeping head attached to body was thinking, ‘What would Grant do?’ I had a nice supervisor, really nice bloke. Had to throw him to the wolves to save my own arse, the arses of those who knew about me, and the data I had not yet gotten out to Coulson. I still get nightmares. I, as the saying goes, walked a mile in your shoes. And I found I couldn’t judge you so harshly. Not to mention I was the one who got HYDRA’s copy of your file out to the team. Of course, I read it first.” Jemma shook her head. She figured anything she had found in Grant’s file was not her place to discuss with Lance. Lance looked at Grant, who also shook his head. 

Grant continued, “When the team had a run-in with my brother, it was apparently about the time Jemma’s information about me had reached Coulson. Having seen what a turd my brother was lent it some very-needed credibility, so they let me out about the time Jemma was extracted. And everybody else proceeded not to talk to me. Except for Jemma. So we figured we were one another’s company in the doghouse.” Grant extended a fist Jemma’s way, which she bumped with her own fist. “Everyone’s mad at me for not staying around to help Leo,” Jemma said with a sigh, “Even though there was no remedy for it but time, and our window of opportunity to insert me into HYDRA was closing. Grant and I got talking about my experience in the field, and unlike everyone else, he listened.” Lance decided to play Cupid. “Why haven’t the two of you…” “NO!” they both cut Lance off. “Skye would scratch my eyes out, and I’d hate to think what Leo’s revenge on Grant would be!” Jemma said with a cringe. “Yeah,” Grant agreed, “They’re mad at us, but this is true love and very dear friendship. They’ll come around. We’ve just decided not to mope in loneliness and misery until then.” Jemma switched the DVD back on, and the three enjoyed the rest of the evening.

Later that night, Skye and Fitz pinned Hunter in his bunk. “…Seriously, mate. They’re just friends. If you’d try talking to them instead of having me scope things out, they’d talk to you. They hang together because they figure you two won’t listen to them…”


End file.
